Hopefully, it’ll be movie audiences across the world by 2009. “300” director Zack Snyder finally breaks through years of Hollywood red tape to helm an adaptation of the seminal 1986 12-issue maxiseries by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, which brought new levels of sophistication and praise to comics. And while many fans worry no film could contain the many subtle layers and subplots inherent in Watchmen, Snyder proved his devotion at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego by announcing a cast of acclaimed actors such as Billy Crudup and Jackie Earle Haley as well as unveiling an original teaser poster drawn by Gibbons in the style of his original Watchmen covers. “I had talked to Dave before because I sent him a copy of the script and he actually drew some panels for me as storyboards,” recalls Snyder. “If you’re a fan, it’s like a lost cover. That’s what it feels like, and that’s what we’re going for.”

Below, Gibbons and Snyder give a rundown of how the poster came about, why President Nixon’s in the mix and what Alan Moore thinks.

THE HOOKUPHow exactly did Snyder persuade Gibbons to step back into the world he created 20 years ago? By living up to his potential. “I read the script and I had notes that it was quite a good script, so we spoke about me doing some conceptual work for the movie,” the artist explains. “I’m quite impressed by what he did with ‘300,’ and I’m impressed by his enthusiasm and understanding of Watchmen.”

FLASHBACKWatchmen fans asking where this scene of an attack on Edward Blake (aka the Comedian) takes place in the comic should know that it’s not in there at all. “It’s actually the scene that comes before the first scene you see in the comic,” explains Gibbons. “It’s Blake being beaten up and thrown out the window before the smiley badge lands in the gutter.”

TRICKY DICKShattering across the background of Gibbons’ piece is a photo of the Comedian with President Richard M. Nixon. Snyder retains Watchmen’s story elements where it’s set in 1985 and the disgraced president remains in office. “In the graphic novel, when [Rorschach] picks it up, it says, ‘Shaking hands with the vice president,’” explains Snyder. “I switched it to Nixon because it’s more iconographic.”

EVERYONE’S A COMEDIANWhile the poster doesn’t contain any cast photos, actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who plays John Winchester on “Supernatural”) will be stepping into the role of the doomed Comedian once the cameras roll this month, and Snyder promises a fully realized set for the action rather than the CGI backdrops he used in “300.” “We’ve built these huge sets, like [Edward “Comedian”] Blake’s apartment and Adrian [“Ozymandias” Veidt’s] office, all of Moloch [the Mystic’s] places and stuff like that,” says Snyder, who calls the Vancouver backlot “Watchmen Headquarters.”

MOORE SILENCEEven with Gibbons’ surprise involvement, fans shouldn’t expect to hear word one from Watchmen scribe Alan Moore, who’s publicly cut all ties to Hollywood adaptations of his comics. “I specifically had a conversation with Alan about it, and although he doesn’t want anything to do with it, he has no problem with me being involved with it,” Gibbons reports. “It doesn’t affect our friendship in the least.”

UNDER WRAPSHowever, despite his involvement, Gibbons promises he won’t be spilling secrets of the film as production rolls along. “It’s weird. I get some information from Zack and [some from] off the Internet, like everybody else. So I forget what he said to me and what I read,” he laughs.

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